Gay & Lesbian Books
Another Mother Tongue
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Manufacturer: Beacon Press
Author: Judy Grahn
Publisher: Beacon Press
Average Customer Rating:
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Another Mother Tongue Description
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.766
EAN: 9780807079119
ISBN: 0807079111
Label: Beacon Press
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 341
Publication Date: 1990-10-31
Publisher: Beacon Press
Studio: Beacon Press
Editorial Review of Another Mother Tongue
Customer Reviews of Another Mother Tongue
Review Summary: AMT: fluent, fluid, integral and holy
Review: Another Mother Tongue is one of the dozen or so most important books I have ever read. It may well be one of the most important books ever written, at the very least having to do with queer life.
It is a luminous tapestry uniting strands of cultural history, folklore, the queer collective unconscious and autobiography, woven with superlative skill in which is recounted everything of importance about us as a people: who we are, where we've come from, and why we are special. The author develops her thesis that, as queers, we are heir to a special office of great antiquity and critical import. We queers are the standers on the Threshold and keepers of the Gate. It is to those like ourselves that civilizations and societies locked in the throes of radical transformation turn, as though to a physician to assure a painless and quiet death for the old and as though to midwives to attend the safe birth of that which is new.
The product of over a decade of research, the author has done nothing less than retrieve our entire suppressed history, our folklore, our pantheons of deities and demons, our spiritual heritage and its lineages and our glorious language - another mother tongue.
Among the most critical things we learn (or are reminded of in case we've forgotten) from Ms. Grahn's epochal volume is that our tradition is an old one - a very, very old one, and that it is continuous thanks to the work of our spiritual ancestors: our first lover's first lover's first lover.
We are reminded that it crosses national and hemispheric boundaries, and that it has spiritual roots.
Grahn also reminds us of the intense degree of violent oppression to which the matrix heterosexist culture has gone (and may be prepared to go again) to marginalize our traditions, rob us of our empowerment, cripple our psyches and deny our special worth and status.
The author relates in her notes how, of all of the moving events that followed the initial publication of AMT in 1984 the most moving was her encounter with a Maori lesbian in New Zealand, who fell weeping into her arms because she at last could see and understand the meaning of her life story.
Having read and re-read this volume, I know just how that woman felt.
Judy Grahn has brought to our collective consciousness as a people things long kept within the racial memory. This she has done in a beautifully readable fashion.
She knows all of the old stories, and she has the signs and persuasions - all of them. This is a book that deserves to be read, read again and loved.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beautiful and heartfelt - Compulsively readable
Review: This is a not to be missed book. The Preface alone is fascinating. This book is so page turningly good you would think you were reading a who-done-it mystery.. Hard to believe that it is out of print for 16 years now.
This book is spotlighted in the anthology `Lovers: love and sex stories' by Tee A. Corinne, saying "Grahn draws together a complex net of ideas, offering the reader a new understanding of fantasy, power and creativity and their potential changing of the world." Also "Judy Grahn weaves a multi-dimensional sexuality and sexual language throughout...Grahn defines the realms of erotic power as: physical, mental, psychic and transformative. Magically, she moves from one to another, naming, explaining and enabling."
From the back of the book - Beautifully blending cultural history with autobiography, `Another Mother Tongue' is a fascinating recovery and celebration of gay culture. Judy Grahn's award-winning book - now in an expanded edition - uses personal memories, etymology, legend, and recent and ancient history to explore the importance and meaning of gay and lesbian life.
"Nothing less than a gay cultural history....It reads like a story, like a letter, like a conversation." San Francisco Chronicle
This is a keeper!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Another Mother Tongue: Fluent, Fluid & Integral
Review: Another Mother Tongue: Fluent, Fluid & Integral
by Bill Courson
Judy Grahn�s book is one of the dozen or so most important books I�ve ever read. It may well be one of the most important books ever written, at the very least having to do with gay life.
It is a luminous tapestry uniting strands of cultural history, folklore, the queer collective unconscious and autobiography, woven with superlative skill in which is recounted everything of importance about us as a people: who we are, where we�ve come from, and why we are special. The author develops her thesis that, as queers, we are heir to a special office of great antiquity and critical import. We are the standers on the Threshold and keepers of the Gate. It is to those like ourselves that civilizations and societies locked in the throes of radical transformation turn, as though to a physician to assure a painless and quiet death for the old and as though to midwives to attend the safe birth of that which is new.
The product of over a decade of research, the author has done nothing less than retrieve our entire suppressed history, our folklore, our pantheons of deities and demons, our spiritual heritage and its lineages and our glorious language � another mother tongue. Among the most critical things we learn (or are reminded of in case we've forgotten) from Ms. Grahn�s epochal volume is that our tradition is an old one � a very, very old one, and that it is continuous thanks to the work of our spiritual ancestors: our first lover�s first lover�s first lover. We are reminded that it crosses national and hemispheric boundaries, and that it has spiritual roots.
Grahn also reminds us of the intense degree of violent oppression to which the matrix heterosexist culture has gone (and may be prepared to go again) to marginalize our traditions, rob us of our empowerment, cripple our psyches and deny our special worth and status. The author relates in her notes how, of all of the moving events that followed the initial publication of AMT in 1984 the most moving was her encounter with a Maori lesbian in New Zealand, who fell weeping into her arms because she at last could see and understand the meaning of her life story. Having read and re-read this volume, I know just how that woman felt.
Judy Grahn has brought to our collective consciousness as a people things long kept within the racial memory. This she has done in a beautifully readable fashion.
She knows all of the old stories, and she has the signs and persuasions � all of them. This is a book that deserves to be read, read again and loved.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Another Mother Tongue: fluent and holy
Review: Judy Grahn's book is one of the most important books I've ever read. It may well be one of the most important books ever written, at the very least having to do with gay life. It is a luminous tapestry of cultural history, folklore and autobiography woven with superlative skill in which is recounted nearly everything of importance about us as a people: who we are, where we've come from, where we're likely headed, and why we are special. The product of over a decade of research, the author has done nothing less than retrieve our entire suppressed history, our folklore, our pantheons of deities, our heritage, our heros and our glorious language - another mother tongue. Among the most critically important things we learn (or are reminded of) by Grahn's epochal work is that our tradition is an old one - a very, very old one, and that it is continuous thanks to the work of our spiritual ancestors (our first lover's first lover's first lover), that it crosses national and hemispheric boundaries and that it has spiritual roots. Grahn also reminds us of the intense, unrelenting degree of suppression to which the matrix heterosexist culture has gone (and may be prepared to go again) to marginalize our tradition. The author relates in her notes how, of all of the moving events that followed the initial publication of AMT in 1984 the most moving was her encounter with a Maori lesbian warrior in New Zealand, who fell weeping into her arms because she at last could see and understand the meaning of her life story. Having read, and re-read this volume, I know just how that woman felt. Judy Grahn has returned to our collective consciousness secret, sacred things long kept within the "racial memory." This she has done in a beautifully readable fashion. Judy Grahn knows all of the old stories, and she knows the signs and the persuasions - all of them - that are the spiritial patrimony of our people. This is a book to be loved, and that deserves to be read and read again.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: almost perfect history of gay culture
Review: Judy Grahn has deftly researched the subject of homosexual culture, both lesbian and gay. She demystifies the sources of popularly exepted "gay" language and mores'. She also clearly defines the original place of the gay male and the lesbian womin in herstory as well as history. A thorougly good read and an educational groundwork for anyone curious-for any reason-about homosexual culture. An impressive peice of work that I highly recommend!